Vehicle arm or prop



May 12, 1931.

G. E. WHEELER ET AL" v VEHICLE ARM OR PROP Patented May 12, 1931 UNITED STATES 1,804,72&;

PATENT OFFICE GARDNER E. WHEELER Ann oimnnns OPPE, or nnw HAVEN, oonnno'riou'r vnnrorn ARM on PROP Application filed December 27,1927. Serial No. 242,578.

This invention relates to. vehicle arms or props, and more particularly to a hinged vehicle arm adapted to support a foldable top for an automobile or the like.

Certain types of automobiles and. other vehicles are provided with tops which may be kept down in mild weather and erected during inclement weather. These tops are usually supported on bows pivotally secured to the body of the vehicle and are provided with stretchers or props which are connected to the bows and serve to hold the latter securelyin place when the top is created. In order that the top may be readily foldable it is the usual practice to provide props in the formof pairs of hinged arms each of which I is connected at. one end to the body of the vehicle and at the other end to one of the bows or some other suitable portion of the framework of the top.. The present invention relatesin par-' ticular toaprop of this type.

According to the usual practice the arms of the prop are castor forged in solid metal, are hingedly connectedtogether and have openingsat their outer ends through which pins or bolts may pass to connect the prop to the vehicle body and top respectively. These props are ornamented in various ways, one ofthe most common practices being to apply a coating of nickel plate to the outer surfaces. When so treated it is highly desirable to provide props made of a non-ferrous metal inforder that the nickel plating may not be destroyed by the rusting of the surfaces on which it is applied, it being well known that thin layers of nickel in the form of plating are porous to a considerable extent. It is the usual practice, especially where nickel or other plating is to be applied to make the props out of brass or bronze which may be readily coated with nickel by theelectroplating processes and which'may be polished to a high degree. However, brass and bronze are both rather expensive metals and as one of the primary objects of our invention we contemplate a prop which may be made of brass or bronze and which while having the outward appearance of the us'ual solid prop is much cheaper to'manufacture' 1 In a more specific aspect we contemplate a form of prop for avehicle top which is made hollow,at least in part, in'order not only to reducethe cost of the prop when it is made of brass or, bronze, -or similar metalsgwhich are fairlyexpensive, but'also to provide a prop, which whilehaving the necessary strength and rigidity, is much lighter in weight than the usual prop.

The hinged portions of the prop contemplated are' preferablyto be made'of solid metal, and-a further object of the invention resides in a novel means for connecting the tubular portions of the prop to the hinged portions thereof. V

An additional object of the invention re sides in a novel method. of forming the solid hinge portions of the prop and connecting the tubular portions'thereto. t i

To'these and other ends the invention consists in the novel featuresand combination of parts to be hereinafterset forth and claimed. 7

Injthe drawingsr Fig.'1i s a plan'view of a prop according toour invention; I

Fig. '2 is a side elevation of the prop shown in Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is asectional view alongline3'3 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along line l of Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a sectional view alongline' 5"5 of Fig. 1; V p 1 I Fig. 6 is a sectional view along line 66 of Fig. 1';

improved prop which in the embodiment h wn is gen lly of ,S- n em i e a pair of substantially identical hinge arms are ofi'set to one side of their respective arms and have registering openings 15, through which pass a hinge pin or rivet 16, the outer ends of which are upset into countersunk portions 17 and 18 of washers 19 and 20 bearing against the outer faces of face plates 13 and 14 respectively. Arms 11 and 12 are provided with shoulders 21 and 22 which limit the movement of the arms about the hinge pin 16. r

The opposite ends of arms 11 and 12 are provided with integrally formed shanks 23 and 24 which. are substantially elliptical in cross-section and on which are received tubular arms 25 and 26, the arms 25 and 26 being substantially straight where they are received on shanks 23 and 24, but curving oppositelyto one another where they extend outwardly from the shanks. At their outer ends the tubular arms 25 and 26 are provided with openings 27 '(Fig. 9), through which pass hollow' rivets 28 having received on the ends thereof on opposite sides of the arms 25 and 26, hollow cup-shaped washers or end caps 29 and 30, these caps closely embracing the adjacent portions of the arms 25 and 26 and the ends of the rivets 28 being turned over to secure the washers to the arms.

The arms 11 and 12 are provided with integrally formed portions 31, 32, and 33, 34 respectively which extend in the direction of and overlie the outer surfaces of the tubular arms 25 and 26. These portions of the arms 11 and 12 may be soldered to the arms 25 and 26, and it is also preferred to solder the ends of the tubular arms 25 and 26 to the arms 11 and 12'at the joints, formed be tween these arms.

In carrying out the invention the hinge arms 11 and 12 may be cast or forged, and the shanks 23 and 24, as well as the portions 31, 32, 33 and 34 formed integrally therewith. The metal between the portions 31, 32, 33 and 34 and the shanks 23 and 24 may be removed in-any suitable manner, as for example by means of a saw, whereby these parts are spaced apart to provide sockets for the reception of the sides of the end portions of the tubular arms 25 and 26, the appearance of the arms 11 and 12 after the removal of this metal being shownin Fig. 8.

and 26 on the hinge arms 11 and 12 b ex tending over the outer surfaces thereo and providing comparatively large surface areas for the solder to adhere to when the parts are connected together thereby.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing description of the invention that considerably less metal is required in the manufacture of our prop than in the usual form, resulting in great saving in the cost of production of the prop without sacrificing the strength of the prop or destroying the normal appearance thereof. The shape of the shanks on the hinge arms is such that the tubular arms are prevented from turning .thereon, resulting in a prop having great rigidity.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that t'he same is not to be limited to all the details shown but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

What we claim is:

In a vehicle prop, a pair of substantially solid arms hingedly connected together, shanks on said arms, said shanks being generally elliptical in cross-section, extensions on the opposite sides of the solid portions of said arms, said extensions being'parallel to the major axes of the generally elliptical shanks and spaced therefrom, and relatively thin walled tubular members shaped to fit and tightly received on said shanks, the extensions and shanks cooperating to form sockets in which the ends of the tubular members are received.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 23rd day of December, 1927.

GARDNER E. WHEELER.

CHARLES OPPE.

luu

The provision of these: portions31, 32, 33

and 34 not only enhances the appearance of the prop but assists the shanks 23 and 24 in properly supporting the tubular arms 25 

